


I'll Just Wait

by WhoknewZeus



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: AU, Abuse, Angst, I fucking deleted everything, I'm fucking pissed, M/M, Read at your own discretion, but I redone it, explicit - Freeform, fuck it, mature - Freeform, something along those lines, soooooooooo, triggering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-08
Updated: 2014-12-08
Packaged: 2018-02-28 14:12:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2735567
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhoknewZeus/pseuds/WhoknewZeus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If there was one sentence, one line, that Calum Hood never wanted to hear again, it was, "I'll just wait." You're probably thinking what could be so dreadful of that particular phrase and why the story came out so long. Read to find out what it's all about then.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Just Wait

**Author's Note:**

> I spent a lot of time making this, and I was just testing the waters on this one. I was playing around with my writing style a little bit, so yeaaah. Endure with me and just enjoy the story!

There was someone Calum Hood wanted to forget, and he wanted to forget them as fast as someone forgetting that there is something important in their hands and get worried when they cannot find it. That was what Calum Hood wanted to do to save himself from the despair that was coming over him like a collapsing wall. He wanted to eradicate the apartment, the bench, the park, the swings, and especially  _him_. The fog comforted him as police sirens were ringing throughout the town.

You must be wondering who this male wanted to forget so badly but cannot, right? If so, you may read on like normal. However, if not, you should probably leave as early as possible.

Maybe as early as now. You should drop this tab, press the back arrow key button at the left corner of your screen, or go outside where the air is still fresh. If you continued reading this and wanted to leave, you wasted about five seconds and more as you read this. Stop reading! Because this is where it all begins for Calum Hood. The boy that never noticed the other boy that was willing to wait forever for him to come save him.

It started on the first day of high school, for Calum Hood was becoming a freshmen along with his many 'popular' friends. They were transitioning from middle school life to high school. It was biggest day of their lives. The start of their last four years of school before heading out in the real world. Unless they wanted to go to college and continue learning to earn their degrees and then go out into the real world. That was fine. Whatever they all had in mind was fine.

Calum had Advisory for first period. It was a class that was giving him the benefit to work with the school staff personally. He was assigned at the counseling office, where he sat on the front desk and directed students to their designated counselors. He even had to go out and pass passes to students that were requested by the counselors. If it were not passes, he would be passing out schedule changes for students that wanted to change or fix their classes. If he was not doing that neither, he would be just waiting around on the front desk for the first bell to ring and go to his second period.

It was a boring class (job) at some points, but it was reasonably easy. The staff members really liked him and would tend to treat him obviously different from the other students since they got to know him personally. It was the stupid Advisory course he was taking that led him to meet the boy that would become the fire that burned his entire existence as if he were a matchstick. It would toast, crunch, and devour his entity and erase his pitiful life.

He was waiting around at his usual position, and he finished homework for his fifth period that he should have done at home. Procrastination at its finest, if Calum would say so himself.

A tall pale boy walked into the counseling office looking for his counselor. He had flat hair that were as blond as his best friend's, Ashton Irwin, hair and a button-up shirt that Calum found slightly adorable. He was also wearing slacks that made Calum question when those were ever in style. Too baggy on the tall boy, that was for sure.

No matter, he was definitively fascinated in the boy. "H-Hello," the tall guy spoke too softly. "I-I want to speak to-to my counselor... plea-please."

"Okay," Calum commented plainly, turning around to see if any counselor was available for the tall blond. He noticed one door open at the far end at his right, and it was Mr. Shelton's office. Shelton was a good person by the heart, and Calum knew the kid was going to get the right help with Shelton on his side. "Go down this hall until you reach the last door over there."

"T-Thank you!" The blond male spoke a little loud, but it was not exactly audible. Calum watched the awkward boy speed-walk down the ugly carpet flooring and not directing his attention anywhere except the ground. He was the stereotypical shy kid in high school to Calum. The only thing that separates this particular boy was the fact he was very tall.

The session the blond had with Mr. Shelton lasted for about ten minutes before he came out to greet Calum awkwardly. "Hello," the tall boy spoke lightly.

"Umm, hi," Calum waved at the gingerly kid.

"Can y-you help me find my-my way around th-the school?" the boy cautiously asked, but there was something that made the blond tightly shut his eyes and berate himself. "Stupid. Way to go,  _Luke_. You big moron!"

"Hey, kid. I don't know what's your problem, but you're doing fine so far. Don't beat yourself over simple things," Calum interrupted, gladly willing to do it too. The boy seemed too innocent to be saying damaging things to himself like that. If only Calum knew that it was the conversation he shared with this Luke that was going to determine how the future was going to go. "I'm Calum Hood. My sister used to go here, so I know my way around here even if I am a freshmen."

"Luke," the blond said with the most relieved face Calum had ever seen on the other male since he walked through the door. "Luke Hemmings."

* * *

Few months into the year, Luke and Calum barely met each other. They had different classes and group of friends. Luke hanged out by a bench that was near a towering tree. The tree was vibrantly green with its leaves, and it remained looking younger since Calum's sister attended the school. It most likely was there when the school was built. Calum wasn't that intrigued in the tree's history, but he did liked the way Luke sat down by that ugly blue bench and mindlessly watched the world walk past him.

Luke barely ate anything whenever Calum saw him during lunch, and he was sometimes lucky enough to catch the tall blond eating a Snicker bar or an apple or banana. Luke varied a lot with what he ate, but Calum was still concerned over how little the male ate.

However, no matter how concerned he was, it wasn't enough to make him go say the magic words that could have saved him a lot of time before the ocean settled down and the whole world was deafeningly silent. Calum could have stopped it all at the root and plucked Luke away from it. Instead, Calum walked past Luke with his group of friends and continued on with their day.

Sometimes, Calum had the opportunity to actually talk to Luke during lunch when his friends were being too much to tolerate. Those were the days Calum felt more content with Luke than he had ever felt with his friends. Unfortunately, there were not enough days for him during freshmen year that he would voluntarily choose Luke over his friends.

Have you ever felt like that, though? Walking or seeing around the people you could have potentially been better friends with than the friends you normally hanged out with? Yeah, I will admit that I had that happen to me plenty of times. I know that I should probably say fuck it and talk to them anyway, but I am not that type of person. It is also not that simple as well. If you become friends with the people you wanted to be friends with, they might end up liking you more than their own friends and choose to hang out with you more. I would feel horrible and guilty if that happened to me, but those normally never happened to me. Not much to complain about memories and what if's, though. You get what you get, right? Well, at least I tend to say those to myself a lot. Anyway, that was what was going on in Calum's head.

As months became weeks, and weeks became days, and days became hours, and hours became minutes, and minutes became seconds, Calum noticed something near the second to last month of the school year. Luke Hemmings was not sitting at the usual spot at his blue bench by the shady tree. In fact, he didn't appear at school for a whole week. No one really knew who he was, so it was obvious no one knew what had happened to him.

Man, if only Calum knew the reason why Luke was gone sooner, he could have done something much earlier. Then again, fate has a way to just deal with people in many mysterious ways.

After that weird week without Luke, the blond appeared at the bench the following week like nothing ever changed. Calum even took his precious lunch time to talk to Luke about what went on during the tall male's MIA (missing in action). Luke stuttered over his answer as usual, but it had something lurking underneath the tone used of each word. It came out a little frightened and fragile, but Calum was foolish to neglect it. "A family trip to the woods? You're so lucky, Luke. I wish I could go camping, too."

"Y-Yeah. You would probably hate it, jus-just s-saying. I-I hated it."

"Oh come on, Lukey! I bet you secretly enjoyed the trip!"

"Yeah..."

Calum examined the blond's expression. Luke would at least make some small eye contact, but he hadn't made one glance over to the noir since he got there. "Are you okay? You're gloomier than usual."

" _Yeah_ ," Luke deadpanned. _  
_

"Oh, shit. My friends are coming over, they'll force me to go with them somewhere again. I have to go, but let's see each more often, yeah?" Calum rushed his sentences as he grabbed his stuff, but Luke nodded.

"I'll just wait," Luke murmured, watching Calum laugh with all his friends with indifference. However, there was different story going underneath the poker face.

* * *

It killed Calum over that the next time they were able to officially hang out together was during their sophomore year. It was nostalgic to Calum to walk into his first period and noticed his assigned seat was next to Luke Hemmings. It was quite wonderful to the New Zealand boy to have another chance to get closer with the introvert.

"We can finally get to know each other more since we have Literature together now," Calum bounced a little in his seat, paying attention to any reaction Luke made.

Calum thought Luke would at least change himself after a year, but he was the same as ever. A stuttering, flannel-wearing, seemingly continuing growing blond boy with flat hair. Although, the New Zealand male didn't mind the look, either.

"Y-Yeah, let's get al-along," Luke tried to smile honestly, but the chapped lips were too tired to stay in position. It quickly went down, and Calum wondered if he was presumptuous to think there was something wrong. The noir really had a habit of getting involved with people's personal life if he truly feels he needs to intervene.

Usually, people came to him to talk out their inner demons and conflicts, so he ended up learning a lot about his friends. Calum was always that good type of person that everyone liked. Luke envied that. But Calum would have never known if it weren't for the mess Luke had made. Anyway, he liked a good story to hold in the library that was located in his brain.

If you are one of these people, you would totally understand what I'm trying to convey. There is just something special about being trusted with people's life story. It gives you a strong sense of who they are as an individual. It gives you a background of what they struggled to go through and what they are currently struggling with. It entertains you with a particular person's hopes and accomplishments. Then you get the sheer benefit of having it again, again, and again, and again, again. You begin to see similarities and differences among them, and you also begin to become a giant vault full of your memories and others' stories. You don't just become a vault, though, you inevitably become their  _savior_.

Did that make sense? Did you reread that again to try to comprehend it? Did you even pay attention on what was going? Big sentences and overly used words stray you off to this paragraph? Well, you probably wouldn't  _clearly_ grasp at what Calum was feeling in that exact moment then. You wouldn't know how it felt to watch Luke excuse himself to use the bathroom, or the way the teacher allowed him to go. You wouldn't know what it felt like to watch that tall handsome blond walk away like the world was bullying him to oblivion.

If Calum was granted the power to go back time, he would commit the cliche and tell his past self to do all the right things before it was too late. Luckily, we lived on Earth. Our beautiful, dying planet that holds about over seven billion people. We're all humans, and so are Luke, Calum, the guy at vending machine, the woman whooping a bigot's ass, and everyone else on the giant living circle. So, Calum couldn't go back in time. He couldn't save himself the trouble of what was lining up for him in the future. He was a human being with flaws and strengths like everyone else. Time traveling was just impossible and doesn't belong in this part of the universe at the moment.

That was why he began worrying when half the class was over, and the tall blond hadn't returned yet. Reaching the last twenty minutes of class, Luke came back with his eyes covered in a variety shades of red squiggly lines reaching his pupils. The frosty blue eyes that caught Calum's before was battling the redness and trying to stay as vivid as possible. Luke Hemmings was crying for most of the class period in the bathroom.

The message got through Calum the second Luke showed up with a red nose and puffy eyes. "Hey-"

"I  _don't_ want to talk about it," Luke articulated so clearly that Calum was shocked the boy was able to overcome his stutters.

"Okay."

And that was the end of that. They never talked about it ever again and maybe Calum forgot it happened at some point during their lives. But then Luke brought it back up mid-semester in the middle of the month of December. It was the season where things were supposed to be freezing and beautiful. Although it was raining snowdrops, there was nothing lovable about the confrontation Calum had with Luke.

It was the time of giving and sharing, and Luke was absolutely sharing something Calum should have never heard. Students were leaving the school grounds and heading home for Christmas break. Luke had an expression that was exhausted and strangely anticipating something. He sat on the same bench he had for the past year, and Calum was next to him.

They had a decent hour before the school was going to lock up and officially close. Luke sat like nothing was changing around him, and maybe even forgot that there was someone sitting next to him. Calum tried to enjoy the same scenery that the blond seemed to be so content with. His face perked up when the blond finally spoke up, but didn't glance at Calum, "School is my safe haven, Cal. I don't  _want_ to go home."

"Oh, come on, everyone wants to go home!" Calum tried to make the conversation light, but he was naive to notice the tone Luke was using. Or maybe he did noticed, but he didn't want to assume anything. Either way, Calum was on another wave length with Luke.

"Ha," Luke awkwardly articulated, "you're rig-right. Everyone wants to go home. So go ahead and go home, Calum."

At that point, Luke was looking over at Calum and smiling like he saw someone trying to fix a broken window with a hammer. He smiled too wide with his gums slightly revealing itself. There were creases around the ends of his eyes as his mouth held the smile, and Calum completely missed the key thing that Luke was conveying. "Okay, but what about you, Luke?"

It was these dreaded words that Calum never noticed. It was something with the way it was subtle. The more he heard it, the more he realized the tone becoming heavier than before. And if you are at least a mildly intelligent human being, you should be aware when these type of things are happening. You should also be trying to decode what they are hiding and see what is lurking underneath the shadows of the words they use.

"I'll just wait..."

Without further questioning, Calum got up and wiped away all the snowy residue on his clothes. He waved at the blond and went to the front of the school where his mom was waiting to pick him up. What was Luke doing after the noir left? Watching. Just like he had always done. Watching the birds from last month fly south and the insects deciding it was too much for its species to go out. He watched snow drop. He watched people walk past him and laugh at something that he wanted to know, so he could laugh at it too. He was always  _too_  observant for his own good.

* * *

It came out to the whole school that Luke Hemmings was placed in a foster home after that Christmas break. They said that Luke's parents were inflicting multiple abuses on him while on break, and eventually Luke called the police on them. It first started when Luke came home after he talked to Calum, then it continued to slide down the slope from there.

Well, technically, it started way earlier, but that wasn't the point.

There were physical bruises, traumatic phrases spat at him, days they forgot he existed, and days  _Luke_ forgot he existed. Luke suffered through the abuse until he was at his breaking point. You may not be able to feel what Luke felt, but I can help bring that image in your mind. It's like you did nothing wrong, nothing at all. You are as pure as the snow that falls on the concrete.

And you come home to your family expecting a warm welcome, but your dad beats you for forgetting to wash the dishes before you left for school this morning. He also beats you for crying like a  _girl_. He then just beats you because he was stressed. Just when you think he was done beating you for all the stupid reasons his awful brain could think of, he surprised you by beating you just for absolutely  _nothing_. Before I allow you to read on about how horrible a father Luke's dad is, allow me to break the dramatic shit for a little to address the seriousness of that second sentence, though.

There is nothing, let me repeat, nothing wrong with being like a  _girl_  in any way. Women, girls, females are anything but  _weak_. They carry a fucking baby for about nine months and oppressed beyond belief. If I was born a girl, I probably wouldn't be feeling anywhere safe in this world because the men are not changing fast enough to treat anyone that doesn't look like a stereotypical model of a 'man' with the same rights. I wouldn't even be able to get my necessities for free when my period comes around. Bras are expensive as fuck and don't get me started on make-up. There are so much things I could bring to you about the hardships and stuff, but I have a story to go on. However, let me tell you how imperative that is to know that  _because_ I can list much more things about what happens to women that there is something seriously corrupt about our society. But don't just take my word for it, I'm just a simple writer that's gay. I'm born a male, and I can't completely grasp what it is like to be a female. Go ask a bunch of women what it is like to be a  _women_  during these times.

I only used that line to display the horrible traits this father carries and to give you a good sense that he is totally not a good person in general. Don't let gender define you of what is strong or weak, because that is utterly stupid. If you run like a girl, then run as fast as your legs can physically make you and  _show_ what running like a  _girl_  can do for you. If you work out too much like a boy, then show those people mocking you that you can smash their skull and brain with your mighty thighs but can't because you'll be cracking an empty shell and that's not a challenge. Whatever it is, whether it is defined as something a boy or girl would usually do, don't EVER (this will be the most recent time in writing I will ever cap something in such a long time) let that discourage you from continuing to do it or embracing it. Fucking done with rant. Continuing on with story! Not sorry...

You wanted to seek consolation with your angelic mother, but you forgot that she can only regret giving birth to you and wanted nothing to do with you. You tried to ask for help from her as your dad beats you in the middle of the living room, and the only thing your mother did was say, "I'm  _not_ your mother. I should've had an abortion. Oh God, help me," over and fucking over again.

Luke blacked out after his dad hit him in the head with his bulky knuckles. He was just lucky it wasn't where he had his wedding ring. After the physical abuse, Luke fixed himself and ate a quick snack from the fridge before resting in his room. The next day Luke was ignored entirely by his parents. He tried to tell them that he needed help with a project for Mr. Martinez. Obviously not receiving a response, Luke went back to his room to finish it by himself.

His parents left without Luke's notice and didn't return for three days. Luke barely had anything to eat since they also forgot to go grocery shopping for the week, so Luke had to make the most with a bag of chips, a half-empty cereal box, one carton of orange juice, white bread, and mildly old fruits.

When his parents came back, the physical and emotional abuse came back as well. The beatings his father afflicted weren't their usual type of tolerable pain, but it was steadily getting worse. The same with the phrases his mother used. Luke could remember each bone that felt like it was broken: ribs, lower jaw, the back of his skull, wrist, tarsals, tibia, fibula, and fingers.

The  _sweet_ words his mother spoke to him as she spectated him getting mauled by his dad. How could Luke ever forget that? If you really think what she say was  _sweet_ , then you are beyond wrong. I will say that. I honestly don't see what's  _sweet_ about someone's mother saying, "You deserve all this. It's just for you, Luke. We don't need you. No one needs you. We would have more money if we weren't fucking spending it all on your shit. Your grades are never going to get you anywhere, and how are you going to help us pay for this goddamn house? I hate useless things; you're one of them."

Sadly, those were a few things she said that Luke could remember before his father smacked the depreciating words out of his head. I know I didn't say anything about Luke crying but with all those things that had happened to him, it's a given that Luke was crying through most of it. Hell, I would too if that happened to me. Soon enough, Luke had to call the police to help him out of his predicament at home.

Let me tell you, it was not a family-like moment for them when Luke's father was being escorted out screaming that he would kill his son. Then Luke's mother was trying to free herself from the cuffs and clutches of the police, also uttering bipolar sentences at her son. Her last words Luke heard before entering the back of police car was, "I'm sorry, Luke! I'm sorry I didn't love you enough! I wanted to! I really did! You're just too  _unlovable_  and  _hopeless_ for me!"

Of course, Calum had had no clue that any of that happened. He was too busy indulging in the lifestyle that was magnificent in contrast to Luke's, for the noir had fun staying up late with his sister and friends. He played video games until the morning hit the night away. Calum went to various restaurants with his family and opened up a few of his presents. The New Years party was amazing, and Calum loved spending time with his relatives.

Calum never had to fight his parents for his freedom or forced to be placed in a foster home, so he couldn't imagine what Luke was going through at that moment. All he could do was hope that the blond was coping all right. There was no possible idea that could have helped mitigate the predicament besides letting the events naturally roll into place.

Oh, how wrong Calum was when the pieces did actually fall into place.

It wasn't long before Calum found Luke, in his usual slacks, flannel, and flat hair attire, in the usual place on the school campus at lunch. "Why didn't you tell me that your home life was shitty?" It was Calum's excellent approach to the subject since it already went across the whole district and not a secret to anyone.

"Because I don't wanna bother anyone with my personal problems," Luke responded, but his eyes never returned a gaze to the noir standing in front of him.

"But this was, and is, actually serious! You can't just bottle it up like that, Luke."

There were people walking around them, but they gave a few strange looks back at them. It was unusual for Calum Hood to make a scene since he was generally known as the cool, reasonable kid around campus. However, there was an isolated atmosphere that Calum and Luke had around each other that made them forget their surroundings.

"Eh, shit happens. Stop trying to help me with stereotypical methods of coping," the blond articulated like he never had a stuttering problem. It was genuinely scary to Calum.

"I could have been there, Lu-"

"Yes, you  _could_ have, but you're too fucking stupid to notice someone that hinted they didn't have a good home life!" Luke yelled, and that was something Luke never done in his pitiful life. The blond never had to raise his voice towards anyone because he was used to being the one yelled at. "I dropped a pretty fucking obvious hint! It was straightforward, Cal! Straightforward!"

Calum reached out his hand to touch Luke's shoulder. When his hand made contact, Luke flinched instantly but relaxed after a few seconds. Luke gets a load of the New Zealander's eyes and involuntarily cried. He didn't know why he was allowing this particular human being to witness how weak and pathetic he was when he couldn't handle the stress. But he did it. He cried and stood up to hug Calum like he was a lost child.

The noir patted Luke's back and rubbed it roughly, but he didn't know what to  _exactly_ do about Luke since it was such a spontaneous action. Calum knew he had to at least be there for the blond because no one was there for him. It truly broke the Kiwi's heart just feeling second-hand sadness from anyone that was forced into loneliness and deprived of love and affection.

It personally pissed Calum off to ever meet someone that caused that type of harm to another person. Calum muttered, "I'm sorry, Luke. I'm serious about that."

"I-I won't sugarcoat anything, C-Cal. Everything won't be f-fine, and it may nev-ver be," Luke retorted, going back to his stuttering, "but you make me feel okay again."

"I do?" Calum responded questioningly, pushing Luke slightly away from his chest so he could get a better look at him.

"Mhmm," Luke hummed positively, trying his best efforts to smile in front of Calum. "I feel safe again."

Those were the most comforting words Calum had ever heard Luke say, and he cherished those so profoundly to this day. It was also what shackled him to the blond like a prison cell.

A obnoxious ringing echoed the hallways, indicating that their lunch was over. Hoards of students began crowding the halls to enter their classrooms, and Luke already said bye with a smile that Calum would remember deep in his mind.

* * *

Luke became different as the year progressed. His hair stopped obeying the laws of gravity and was outrageous up in a quiff. Luke quit wearing flannels and was wearing t-shirts and tank-tops. He even had a lip-piercing! Calum actually found that one kind of hot...

Most of all, Luke Hemmings wasn't wearing slacks for the first time! He was wearing black skinny jeans that tightly embraced his legs and bum. Overall, Calum had a mighty urge to jump into a roaring waterfall to satisfy his level of thirst.

Luke Hemmings smiled more, and he was even talking to more people! The Kiwi would have thought that the foster home was providing him the best possible care ever to change him that fast. Only it wasn't the foster home that was the source of it, Luke was doing it all willingly. There was one thing that did not change the blond, it was his habit of sitting at that same, ugly blue bench with the same towering tree behind it.

He had more friends hanging around him, but there were days where he was just by himself. Calum thought Luke's new friends would help him heal the scars that his family inflicted, but Calum continued to see Luke searching for someone by his bench. At this point, it made sense to call it Luke's bench. The blond had a few people around him, but his eyes weren't glancing at them. Calum shrugged to himself, considering that it wasn't a big deal to him.

There are things in this world you should ignore, and one of them is the negativity people say about you. Another is coconuts. I hate coconuts. Sorry if you love coconuts, though.

One of the things you shouldn't ignore in this world is when someone is desperately trying to look for you, unless they are stalker/killer/asshole, then go ahead and ignore them. Another one is what is happening in Ferguson and just the racism that goes around the world. I pray for the safety of all those all around the world fighting for a change such as gay laws in Uganda, what goes on in North Korea, the water usage in California, and more. I hope by the time this story gets a month old, then the justice will already be serve and at least some mitigation is given.

Anyway, I had multiple people look for me before, and I felt torn between my despair and regret trying to make amends for it. I know the saying goes like, "Never look back at your past," but I can't help it, you know? That was what Calum was doing at this part of the story.

He saw Luke more times during the day than he can count, but he never actually got a chance to  _talk_  to him besides Literature class and Spanish. However in those classes, Calum was not able to converse with the blond due to their teachers tedious worksheets and lectures.

Luke would often give Calum a long stare during Spanish class because their seats were placed on opposite sides of the room. The Kiwi always noticed it.

The ideal in Calum's head was to glance back and maybe make a few funny faces, but he didn't do it. You want to know why? Of course you do! You don't have much of a choice, anyway. Calum didn't reciprocate the stare because he wanted to know how to speak a few sentences/words in Spanish, so he could use them to get the girl in his fifth period to go on a date with him.

Funny, huh? The ways love can change someone and make them do things as if they were drunk. Their mind blinded by the mere presence of their crush and tossing away their sanity and common sense to get a small chance to go somewhere privately with them. Despicable, but that's one side of love for you.

Sophomore (10th grade) year went by like freshmen, and Calum hadn't made the decision to hang out with Luke at lunch more often. Calum went out with that girl in his fifth period, but they broke up by the third week together. Luke physically changed, but he remained the same inside. He lost none of his will to sit on the right-side of the cornflower blue bench. The leaves from the giant tree behind the bench would sometimes fall upon the area around Luke, and it would create such a gorgeous and nostalgic sense to Calum when he caught it.

By summer vacation, Calum received a few messages from friends that were mutual friends with Luke. They would tell him that he should talk to Luke when junior year comes or earlier because the blond was becoming infamous for his one-liner: "I'll just wait."

Apparently, Calum's friends also took note that the blond was always waiting for someone even when he had someone around to accompany him. They told Calum to talk to him since they were beginning to feel worried for the male. There was a second-hand sadness and loneliness that was beginning to rub onto them like it was a fungus trying to grow on their body. They were exasperated of it, and they wished for Calum to see what was up.

Fortunately, Calum had Luke's number and began texting him a few days after his friends notified him about the insidious problem. Luke agreed to meet Calum at their local park on Thursday.

By the time their meet-up arrived, they scheduled to see each other around seven'o'clock because Luke enjoyed the calm night. The wind harshly blew crisp air at the New Zealander, and the swing he sat on creaked and rocked audibly. The cars passing by made swishing sounds, and Calum couldn't smell anything significant besides the freshness of the outside world.

Luke arrived a little later than their designated time, but Calum was all right with it. As Luke aprroached the swing set, Calum smiled joyfully at his favorite blond, "Hello."

"Hi, Calum."

"Wanna swing with me?" Calum awkwardly swirled his arms around at the swing juxtaposed to him.

"Y-Yeah, why not?"

"Yay!"

* * *

I remembered swinging at the swing set when I was younger. There would always be this since of freedom and unrestricted joy whenever I reached the highest elevation the swing could get me. The mere height and momentum that comes at me, and the smile that would always come to my face when I could see the sun or moon coming closer to my face. Nostalgic, isn't it?

I'm sorry for those that hadn't gotten the chance to go on one of these priceless beauties, but I do recommend going on one if you get a chance. They all aren't that special, but I found it special. It's that rush of air that dashes through your cheeks and tickles your ears when you swing up, and that feeling of falling safely and feeling like time is going backwards when you swing in reverse. I also apologize for changing my tenses quite a bit, I'm just playing with the waters at the moment.

You all should be able to fully comprehend what was going on in Calum's mind as he swings to his heart's content. Luke swung in moderate paces compared to Calum's, but he was more afraid of the heights than the Kiwi.

Almost forgotten that Calum had a reason to bring Luke out so late was to ask him about what was going on. As Calum swung peacefully fast, he spoke out in a serious tone, "Who're you waitin' for, Lukey?"

"Whadda talkin' about?" Luke responded.

"At lunch, you always seem troubled and lost," Calum couldn't help but smile as he reached the highest point his swing could take him, "our friends are getting concern."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, they kept messaging me through my phone that you give off a heavy vibe or somethin'."

"Ah," Luke concentrated at the bathroom building across from them. "I'll apologize to them when I see them."

"Don't do that, you idiot. You did nothing wrong, they're just wondering who you could be waiting for that makes you have this lost puppy-like reaction."

" _You_ ," Luke stated, slowing his swing until he was able to hover calmly over the ground.

"W-What?" Calum was the one stammering over himself now.

Luke waited until Calum slowed down his momentum, so he could actually look at the Kiwi with indifferent eyes. "You, Cal, I'm waiting for you."

The blond got off his seat and began walking away. Hands warmly placed in his pockets, Luke just walked on nonchalantly. What was that weirdo thinking? That Calum was going to follow him and continue the conversation? Because fuck yeah, Calum was definitively going to follow him and see what the fuck was going on between them.

"I didn't think you were going to come after me," Luke chuckled horribly at the air, and the many lampshades was shining over his pale skin so beautifully. "I guess tables do turn."

"Luke!" Calum yelled, knowing how empty the park was and that his voice would echo too loudly. "Get serious and speak to me properly!"

Luke never turned around, but he kept walking down the pavement with a moderate pace. "Come on, walk with me back to my foster home, Calum."

Not arguing with Luke's decision, he indeed followed with five steps behind the blond. It was a whole new situation for Calum, for he never experienced so much anxiety clogging his stomach as he waits for Luke to say something while the cars swooshed past them. The trees were too dark to see its youthful leaves growing and only shadows surrounded them. The streetlights still illuminated their path back home, but Calum could feel himself getting lost as he follows Luke.

"I just wait for people, it's my thing, Calum," Luke broke the ice, "I wait for them because I want to, even if they don't deserve it."

"Luk-"

"I waited for lunch to be over. I waited for my mom to pick me after school even when she gave me a disgusted look," Luke started rambling over Calum, and there was a distinct emotion filling his throat as he listened, "I waited for my dad to stop beating me after my skin went to a darker pigment. I waited for him to stop beating me for all his reasons and waited for the punches and kicks to be over when he just felt like torturing me."

"Oh my God," Calum remarked, truly scared to follow Luke home because he didn't want to hear more of Luke's story.

"My mother said the same thing when she found out I was still breathing. It was like she was disappointed I made it alive. I endured it all, and I waited for them to change," Luke stopped to press the cross button on the traffic pole. "I guess that's not possible after getting this far with them."

"Luke, look-"

"It's okay, Calum. I just wanted you to know a little bit of what I went through." Luke uttered, still having his back towards Calum.

"Why wait for me then?" Calum almost choked the words out of his throat because he was beginning to feel himself cry.

"I told you before, you make me feel  _safe._ " It was like the walk was only a few minutes because they were in already in front of Luke's foster home, "Let's hang out another time, yeah?"

For the first time since Calum embarked on this walk with the blond that Luke turned around and smiled at Calum with the most gleeful face he had ever seen. In comparison, they looked funnily strange. The New Zealander had tears falling sporadically to the same pavement ground that led them home, and Luke was grinning like the world was finally going right with him.

It was like having your heart broken by someone that wasn't even trying to do it, but they did it. Calum placed all the pieces in the past together with the information he obtained from Luke. Instead of saying something emotional or anything helpful, he only said, "O-Okay."

* * *

Junior year of high school, their second to last year, it was time for something to change. In the first four periods, Calum had Luke in none of his classes, but he kept his hope for his last two periods. At lunch, Calum went over to Luke at the blond's usual spot. Calum was disappointed to find out from Luke that he didn't have any classes together after the break. It was okay, they at least got their lunch period together. It was what was going to suffice.

Something sparked in Calum that made him want to stay by Luke's side, and he honestly never wanted to leave. As weeks went by, their conversations about why the clouds are able to form shapes with only wind flow or why Mrs. Anderson was even teaching at their school became moments of yearning. It's that single space in time where the motion of things slow down until they reach a zero and only the two of them were able to create motion. They never took the courageous jump into the rift between them to find each other, but they being pulled closer together by an intangible string of fate.

Before he realized it, Calum would always snap out of his trance with Luke snapping his fingers together. "Welcome home, Captain Hood, how was space?"

"Glorious, Hemmings, fucking majestic," Calum would always respond to that phrase.

"God, you're an idiot," Luke articulated.

Calum's influence on Luke was that he made the blond feel comfortable and at home, so the stuttering problem Luke had disappeared. Other students could tell Luke was certainly opening himself more happily towards others, for Calum had that affect on him. First time ever that Luke was smiling effortlessly at the world around him, and Calum indulged in every facet of it.

You would be surprise how fast a school year actually is when you go from the first two months to the last two weeks. Maybe it was a twist in fate or some supernatural being controlling their future, but Luke was waiting at his bench for Calum. He was going to tell him that he passed his AP Literature exam and his AP Environment Science exam. He must had the biggest grin on his face awaiting for his best friend to see, but there wasn't a happy ending available for everyone.

Calum appeared with his lips agape, and his eyes looked like he saw a box full of kittens thrown into a giant grinder and turned into a kitten ground beef. It's funny how fast you can change the form of someone's lips in under a second because Luke's lips were slowly falling like the sun lost the battle against the moon.

"I wont be attending this school next year, Luke. I'm so sorry," Calum murmured like if he spoke any louder that the tears he was holding back was going to drown his words.

"I-I-I don't unders-"

"I'm sorry, Luke," Calum muttered, stepping hesitantly towards Luke with open arms.

"N-N-No, C-Calum!" Luke rushed into Calum's chest and embraced him like his  _last breath_  depended on it.

"My parents are moving houses that's miles away from here, don't get me wrong, Luke," Calum sniffled as he spoke, hugging Luke closer, "the house is beautiful. It's huge. Let's make our last times together matter, yeah?"

Luke nodded against Calum's shoulder because of his amazing height.

I must be annoying you by interrupting where something important is happening. However, it is imperative that you are able to grasp at what it is like to be in Calum's shoes  _and_ Luke's. I know that some point in our long life that we had someone to say goodbye to. I'll share a memory with you all to help bring the imagine to life. I know how excruciating it is to be in Luke's shoes, for I was always the kid that lost friends because of distance numerous times. I made a few true friends when I was in my acne-free years because I was so young and didn't comprehend the concept that people, no matter how close you are to them, have to go sometimes.

I used to have somebody named Justin, and he told the most hilarious jokes that I thought I was going to seriously die if I laughed any harder at them. I had someone named Kim, and she burped and farted as many times she wanted because she was her own women and fucking didn't care about what others said. I had someone named Kate, and she was like the mother that looked after me when my real one wasn't around. God bless my mother's soul (she ain't dead, though, just saying it because she deserves it).

I know deep in what is left of my heart that I can list all the people that made an impact on my life and give them some recognition in this section, but you wouldn't read all that. However, I'm sure you could do the same if you were typing the words that my fingers seemed to tap faster than my mind can double check if what I say is correct. You could create your own list of all the people that left your life, whether they were good or bad. You cared for them as much as I cared for mine. Like how I left all my friends at my SCPA or when Renee, Casiana, Jordan, and Frances left me as I progressed through my high school years. You made an effort to become close to all these people and only to receive a sting to the heart that they aren't staying by your side anymore. It hurt, didn't it? I feel you all deep in my chipped heart.

But we grow up trying to find a way to make the pain go away in our own different ways. If it is simply moving on or crying days and nights over them, we all have our own coping methods. It's just a matter of how long we can hold onto that thin string that leads to them because we are just so stubborn sometimes. That was what was happening to Luke and Calum, they were entering two different lanes and had little time before they became nothing but memories for each other.

Calum and Luke's time together wasn't long, then Calum was gone. Packed and in their moving truck. Luke stopped looking for someone the day he knew Calum was gone. Luke literally scoffed at himself whenever he remembered his teachers saying that his senior year was going to be the most fun in all his years of high school.

He waited with an aching heart for Calum to come visit him at his bench and surprise him with a; "It's a joke! I'm not really moving!"

Alas, he was stuck in reality. He lived in a world where celebrities die like everyone else, people steal things from stores, and the police that were created to protect the people end up being the complete opposite. Luke knew there were countries that made being gay or showing any signs of being a homosexual was illegal and allowing the government to order death on them. Hell, he knew there was even numerous cases where an innocent black person was shot down or killed by a police officer.

Now that Luke thought about it, his reality was horrible to begin with. The blond had nothing much to complain about when there were, and are, cases like those not being talked about because people were more interested if Beyonce was pregnant with her second child or that Kim and Kanye West want another baby.

Luke felt shitty just thinking about how terrible his society was. His discomfort mixed with his anguish with Calum's absence. Every day he committed for himself to sit down at that bench and wait like a dog for Calum. He stayed in at place with the knowledge that Calum wasn't coming at all, but he willingly waited for him still.

Disturbingly losing himself to his thoughts, Luke closed himself from people again. He spoke only when necessary and prayed to a god that he gave up on to give him another chance to see Calum. In times of desperation, a lot of people go to god to seek for answers from something that can't communicate to them in any way. Most of them do it because they feel that god is their last hope on their problems.

Normally, Luke gave up on his belief of a god because he remembered praying every time his father socked him in the stomach for god to stop him. The blond prayed for something that god couldn't do. Luke requested a wish from god that was just impossible, and it was to make his parents go back to where they were happy seeing him. Luke laughed at himself thinking that if he really prayed hard enough during his father's assaults and mother's derogatory words that they would turn into pats on the back and words of love and encouragement.

Maybe he would have been more normal if his history wasn't so messed up.

* * *

The day their future starts and new stories begin to unravel for them, for it was graduation day. The stadium they held the ceremony was capacious, and the sheer power coming from numerous families was astonishing. The grandparents yelled as much as their aged lungs could, and fathers were hooting their children like it was football (American version) game.

Mothers cried over the fact that their little princes and princesses were going to grow up and learn to not wait for their prince/ss charming. The school's colors were on flags, t-shirts, sweaters, jackets, shorts, and balloons. The floating ball of helium were crowding the top of the stadium, and the staff were certainly going to be unhappy picking those off but they would let it slide for the time being.

The first students to receive their diploma were the students that were graduating in white instead of the traditional coloring of the school. These were the people that worked extra hard to get their grades as high as it could possibly reach. They were the above average students that needed to be recognized by the school's standards.

"Anna Rapada!" People cheered excessively as a curvy Filipino female walks down the aisle waving her hand awkwardly at the flashing cameras. Her curls were tossed behind her shoulder by her hand, and she smiled genuinely at her principal.

"Thank you."

As more students in white went to grab their diploma, Calum was getting antsy just sitting down with his new friends. He was not one of the students graduating in white, but he did not care. He was eccentric that he was graduating!

"Joanna Reyes!"

"Yvonne Rivas!"

"Santana Rivera!"

"Joshua Roman!"

"Xavier Victor!"

"Let's not forget Mikayla Moyd! Come up here!"

Tons of names were called and cheers stayed as a clamor. Calum Hood was next. He was fucking next. It was finally happening! Calum was finally next! "Calum Hood!"

The noir jumped off his seat and almost frolic through the aisle until he was on stage. The voices screamed louder, and the music was blaring during Calum's appearance. He shook hands with his principal and received his diploma. He walked down the aisle back to his seat with a grin held so long that he could get jaw lock. Calum's legs vibrated with excitement and anxiety of what the future holds for him, and yet, he thought of what Luke was doing in his happiest times. 

At least Calum Hood was no longer a high school student.

* * *

For a few years after that event, he had a good life. He dated a few girls and had one-night stands occasionally, but the New Zealand male fabricated an image of Luke waiting at the same place at his old school every time he got tangled with different girls.

Don't get Calum wrong, but he tried forgetting about Luke because he hadn't seen him in decades that it seemed fair to do so. However, Calum couldn't do it. No matter how many pool parties he was invited to, or when he went to prom and won prom king, or when he graduated, Luke was going to pop up in his head like a daisy and rooted itself to his brain.

He tried to cut the string between him and Luke so many times, but he was unaware that he was trying to cut an iron chain with scissors.

It didn't help his situation when his friends would remind him a few times on the internet that Luke was back to an introvert. They sent him pictures before they graduated to show how dedicated Luke was to waiting on that stupid bench by the ridiculously tall tree.

Often, his response to all of them was to ignore it all. However after graduating, he would look back on it to think what was Luke thinking by doing that action? One night when his mind was stressing himself out, he went out for a walk, which ended up being a two-block walk away from his house and approached a park.

No sounds of children laughing or mothers laughing at their babies. There weren't a sight of sunlight touching anything, and the world was consumed by the darkness. The only form of lighting was from the artificial lights the park had aligned down all the cement roads. Calum took the path up until he reached the playground and saw something he wasn't supposed to see.

Like fate was testing their friendship as an act of cruelty. Calum recognized a very familiar blond quiff and slim figure on a swing, going back and forth in slow motion. His back was turned at Calum, but he knew who it was out of over seven billion people in the world. He  _knew_ it was Luke. _  
_

He rushed over, kicking and spreading the sand in the air, and called out, "Luke!"

Immediately, the male looked over their shoulder with an expression that almost broke Calum's heart. "Ca-C-Calum?"

"What the fuck happened to your face!?" Calum exclaimed as he got closer, the sound of a few wood chips crunching to his footsteps .

Luke quickly positioned himself away from Calum and shook his head. "No, no, no, no..."

"Luke, who  _fucking_  did it?"

"D-Don't hurt m-me, I'm so-sorry!" Luke cried out, shutting his eyes and preparing his body for a punch that would never come.

The New Zealand male came over to Luke and caressed the cut on Luke's cheek and examined the black and purple shading that was around Luke's left eye. He whispered an apology before using a softer tone to relax Luke, "Hey, who did this to you, Luke?"

Luke embraced Calum tightly because he  _waited_ for his moment to see the noir for so long. He spoke without stuttering, "My ex-foster parents gave it to me because I was being a destructive parasite."

"I swear I would fuc-"

"Don't finish that sentence, Cal. You don't mean it," Luke interjected, pushing the Kiwi away with a small force. "Let's talk things over while we're on the swings. It really calms me down."

It was all coming back to Calum again as he soared forward and backward. It was the same Luke but with new stories. The same would apply to him as well. Nothing really changed between them. Luke explained how he got his black eye and where he lives instead. Apparently, Luke received aid from the government to pay for an apartment nearby the park, sort of explaining why he was swinging alone so late.

Calum was fascinated that Luke had grown so much that he was able to control his stuttering immensely better. Purely because they were talking about Luke's new home, the noir suggested that he would visit him more often if Luke would like some company.

"Yeah, that would be great," Luke smiled sincerely, gripping tighter at the chains of the swing.

"Awesome!"

"After all these years," Luke murmured out of the blue, "I get the blessing to see you again."

"Same here," Calum remarked. "Wanna show me your flat?"

"Random, but okay," Luke muttered, slowing down his swing before getting off. Unlike Luke, Calum jumped off when he reached the maximum height his swing could take him.

* * *

When you arrive at a friend's house, you generally want to keep everything tidy as they are until you leave because you don't want to disrespect your friend's living space. I want to take this moment to apologize to my best friend, MP (I rather let his initials be his name here), for having sexy times with one of your kinda-friends on  _your_ bed while  _you_  waited for  _us_  to finish downstairs.  _On_ the same day I met your friend, too! I am an awful person for that. Sorry, MP. I will always love you, though.

Moving on, Luke pushed the front door after unlocking and allowed Calum to go first. The Kiwi noticed a lot of unopened boxes laying around. A futon mattress was neatly in place on the side of the living room, and Calum assumed the blond was more comfortable sleeping there.

"You have a sweet place," Calum commented, stepping inside with fascination.

"Shut up, Cal," Luke chuckled. "Nothing is even out of their boxes."

"But ya got your own place!"

"Idiot."

* * *

The seasons were transitioning and Luke got himself a job nearby his home. Calum visited often as he could because his classes for college was fairly doable and didn't need a job to pay for his tuition, books, and more. His parents supported him with every step, and Calum did not mind since it would mean he would have to pay back his parents encouragement by tenfold. He wanted to make them so proud.

Calum came over to Luke's house often enough to earn himself a spare key to the blond's apartment. Calum would come in the home and wait for Luke to sluggishly enter through the door.

This was another one of those days. Expecting someone's arrival was a hard task for Calum, he liked being the one people were waiting for instead. Except that this person was Luke Hemmings, awkwardly awkward male of over six-feet, he was the only exception. This did not include family since family, to Calum, had their own sets of rules and exceptions.

Totally at the edge of his patience, Calum rummaged through Luke's apartment as usual. He laughed at Luke's kitchen utensils, which were specifically just plastic spoons, forks, and plates. The knives were the only thing made out of steel. As Calum could recall Luke's magical words, the blond said, "I fucking hate doing dishes, so everything is staying plastic."

Unsurprisingly, Calum had seen the majority of Luke's stuff with the amount of time he had visited Luke and wasn't home. The only place he had not snooped through was the closet in the bedroom Luke never really uses. Calum always thought it was boring, but he was bored and in need of something to do.

I would like to say it is wrong, and I believe it is also illegal, to go through someone's private or personal items without their permission, but our conscience seems to fog because curiosity connects the both of them. In this case, pardon the upcoming cliche, curiosity does kill the cat.

Calum held onto the knob and reclined his arm. He saw a shortage of clothes filling the closet, so he thought he should take Luke shopping sometime. His head peeked in and scanned the area for something interesting to inspect. In the far corner, there was a box neatly against the edge of the corner. Calum took it out of the closet and began digging his lengthy fingers past through the flaps of the box.

The contents were simple treasures and nothing too extravagant. It contained three photo albums and a few letters scattered around. Calum took out one photo album and saw something move underneath the random pieces of paper. His hand pushed away the sheets and grabbed the object. It was a journal; the writing that was horrendously marked across in the middle of the cover page was certainly a child's.

"Ooo, it's Luke's writing as a child," Calum remarked as he began reading the first page. "Eeh, Luke didn't improve that much on his penmanship."

Journals are not exactly personal until it says  _personal stuff_ or something in that nature written somewhere. Calum wondered if Luke really thought it was a good idea to start off the first page with: "Luke Hemmings' Diary"

It was ridiculous to think that a grown man was keeping such a childish item. Nonetheless, it still piqued Calum.

Calum reads the first few pages and finds it comforting to see nice, simple things being written down. He also learned what Luke did as a child. Luke Hemmings, in his younger years, liked turtles but was scared of it biting him or touching him. Calum reads a small bullet made on the side that Luke discovered that he hates the sandwiches his mom puts in his lunch for school. He also discovers that male ladybugs are not called manbugs. That particular sentence made Calum giggled to the thought of a mini-Luke trying to be spiritual and observant of the world.

Luke wasn't coming through the front door, so Calum thought he could read the journal a little further. As Calum read the numerous silly lines and thought-provoking discoveries, he soon came across a page that was different from the previous pages. The writing was progressively getting neater, and the words written down were transforming into something dark and provocative. The New Zealand male read the words aloud, "Today, dad ignored me. Mum did too. They didn't want to help me with my homework, and I really need it to at least get an average passing grade for class."

A new feeling came pooling in Calum's stomach that drowned the fuzziness that he was getting when it was little-Lucas writing. It seemed like Calum reached the stage where it all started for Luke. "Mum made no lunch for me to bring to school. Dad drank a lot last night and is passed out on the couch. I'm still failing a few classes. I tried to ask mum for money to at least buy lunch and told to me to shut up before heading off to bed. Maybe they aren't in a good mood... Tomorrow will be better."

Each individual sentence brought another wave of despair into Calum's stomach, he knew it was coming. The black eyes, bruises, unstable emotions, and tears. It was all coming soon. "Dad yelled at me today. I guess the sleeping giant woke up. Mum didn't defend me or anything, she just watched. Where's the pity? Oh well for that better tomorrow. But I  _have_ to stay optimistic. My parents love me still."

Calum saw it, and his eyes skimmed the handwriting. The lining on the paper were smeared with something wet throughout in different sections of the page. The writing was faded as well, but the message was overtly there. "Dad hurt me today," Calum whispered regrettably. "Oh God."

"Calum! I'm home!" Luke shouted as he pushed the front door, "and I brought doughnuts!"

The Kiwi panicked immediately and tried to put everything back in the box and into the closet like he was never there. I can relate to this a lot because I always get into a lot of unfortunate events. Calum retorted, "I'll be right there!"

* * *

If Calum could say so himself, Luke was generally happier. The blond was smiling as if the world uncovered the cure to HIV/AIDS or cancer. They were hanging out Luke's place as usual, but it was one of those days where Luke Hemmings would like to talk about his abusive past. Calum could tell simply by the facial expression Luke makes when he is contemplating. Honestly, the Kiwi found it really attractive.

"You must be tired of hearing my stories, Cal. I know I should move on," Luke articulated, "but it still haunts me."

"I don't know what you should do, I'm not you, Luke," Calum retorted, "but I can be by your side and listen all you want if that counts for anything."

Luke smiled to the Kiwi's generosity and gently settled his hand on his knee. "Thank you, Calum."

"Aye, no problem, Lukey."

The two stayed in their positions for a while, trying to absorb the serene air that was floating around them. Calum wouldn't say it out loud, but he would kind of let Luke kiss him. The Kiwi knew his sexuality quite well, and he was in fact straight. Not into dicks at all. However if it were Luke, he wouldn't mind one bit. Though, maybe his teenage hormones were acting up on him again. He wouldn't want things to turn out badly between them, so he did not take the risk to instigate anything.

Luke released his hand from Calum's knee, and the coolness took over the warmth in seconds. The blond went to make himself a soothing, hot tea to enjoy with his best friend.

In Calum's bizarre head, he was creating another Luke. Calum imagined himself sitting down on the couch as Luke kneels down. The imaginary blond toyed with the belt that was hugging Calum's waist, for the Australian had these dreamy eyes whenever he was around the Kiwi. Calum absolutely adored the expression and awaited for the day to see it in reality. Before the imaginary blond pulled out Calum's hardening penis, the real Luke returned with a coffee mug filled with steamy tea.

"I know what you're going to say, Hood," Luke spoke a tone deeper than usual, "and I don't give a shit if my tea is in my coffee cup. So fuck you."

"No, no, continue on with your beverage, Hemmings. It's just that-" Calum stopped himself to lock eyes with Luke as the blond sips his tea. Had this ever happened to you, though? You're in the middle of sentence and suddenly, like your attention span in your brain just got jammed, you're frozen staring at someone's eyes for a bit. Then you get awkward and forgot what you were going to originally say, so you would say the same thing Calum would say, "Never mind."

"Oh," Luke's eyes dropped to the calm surface of his tea, "okay."

* * *

It was something that was undetected on Calum's radar. He began dating again and introducing his lovers to Luke. Each visit Calum made, he saw Luke became more distant. Sometimes Luke didn't even bother to smile at the girls Calum brought to him. He would sigh and proceed to enter another room, completely dissing the couple. Calum didn't quite like the contempt well.

"Why aren't you happy for me!?" Calum slapped the dry wall with his anger. The innocent girl that he brought to Luke's home was totally uncomfortable with the situation. She wanted to get out as fast as possible, but she was Calum's girlfriend at the time. She couldn't leave because she felt that it was her duty to stay with her boyfriend through thin and thick.

"I am! Just stop shoving them all in my fucking face each time!"

"That disrespect isn't right, Luke!"

"Oh, fuck me with a cactus, Calum. I don't need to know every fucking girl you bring to this damn apartment," Luke spat as he walked into his room and slammed the door before the other male had a chance to also enter. "Besides, you guys always break up! It's not going to fucking work out between you and  _anyone_!"

The girl told herself that she and Calum would probably be better off as friends. She left surreptitiously through the front door and took a cab home.

"O', gimme a break!" The noir tried to fight back, but he halted himself when he realized what Luke had say. "You know what? Fuck you, Luke Hemmings. I didn't think you could be such an asshole."

Normally, you should let your best friend off the hook when they disrespect or harm your feelings. In this case, however, Calum was furious about Luke's shitty attitude. The Kiwi tried to justify the blond's actions to ensure that there was not a miscommunication between them. It was not like any of it was his fault, anyway. Calum may have called out Luke first, but Luke had the attitude of a five-year-old. Calum hated kids and people that act like kids.

He rushed out of the door and held onto his pride. Calum knew where his girlfriend's home was, so he headed in the direction of her house to make things up with her. Let's just say that the girl and him had a very  _lovely_ time together as Luke began mentally fought himself over if he should apologize first or not. Luke told himself what he almost always told himself, "I'll just wait."

* * *

Call Calum a reckless, inconsiderate, stark insane, unbelievable, foolish, despicable, unreliable, and irresponsible piece of cow shit. He deserves it. There is one thing you should try to never do to a person that went through different abuses from their parents, it's to do the same actions their parents did. Get that tattooed on the middle of your chest, forehead, and even ass cheeks, it would save you a lot of trouble.  _  
_

Calum went out to substitute the strange missing-feeling with the pleasure from having sex with strangers. God bless his parents' ignorance and choosing to believe that he was  _hanging_  out with a few friends and won't be back until late night or early morning. The thing with Luke was that the blond had a strange pride to not initiate anything until someone did it first. Thus, he awaited for Calum every time the New Zealand male decided to forget the day and escape in someone's embrace for the night. Let's talk about how unhealthy of a coping method this is, though.

You cannot help yourself by numbing or ignoring your feelings. It's horrible to yourself and eventually becomes a detriment to your emotional health. This also can lead to a type of depression where the individual feels excessively lonely and hollow. They begin to no longer see themselves as human beings and soon lose their sense of self-worth. At some point, they become one of the most complicated people to deal with since they lost their empathy and self-esteem. However, others could still show different effects from using sex as a coping method.

On a side note, during this time, Calum had discovered how broad his sexuality could be. There is a reason why I mentioned  _people_  and not just girls. As much I disagree with this method, Calum did get some sort of benefit out of this. He learned a lot when he picked up a transsexual women. It was shocking experience for Calum, but he took the situation very maturely.

He and the girl still got freaky, and Calum enjoyed it to the end. After that moment, Calum not only laid with women; he had sex with a man, a transsexual man, older man (the guy was 48, but he looked like he was in his early 30's. Calum went along with it.), and even cougars and DILFS. If anyone does not know what a cougar or DILF is at this point in their online-dominated life, you could just take a quick moment to quickly search on Google (or whatever your search engine is) or Urban Dictionary. Either way, your innocence will be stripped away from your beautiful virtue.

Go ahead, just do it. If you're on Urban Dictionary, you could also search up your name and see if there is anything funny in the results. I did it. I found that my name, Zeus, could be used as a weird verb/noun thing.

On the website, it says, " _After having sexual intercourse with a woman in a bath tub full of water, hurry up and grab a toaster, plug it in and throw it into the tub whilst yelling "ZEUS BEOTCH!"_  " (Here's a link, just in case any of you don't believe me. Just take away the spaces because I suck at technology. Fuck me, oh well. www. urbandictionary define. php? term=Zeus&defid=3468326 )

If that is not the most bizarre shit you have ever seen, you have been on tumblr for too long. If that is true, I am proud of you. If not, I am still proud of you. Back to Calum, he was unsure of what his own sexuality was. He just knew that he wanted to be with every single person that would allow him to have sexual relations with them. He just wanted to leave his sexual identity as something ambiguous for the moment.

He liked the idea of Luke Hemmings a lot, though. He really liked it actually. He won't admit it, but Calum did secretly wanted to see if Luke would let him go further than friendly touches and conversations.

Alas, a simple text from one of his friends with benefits makes him forget that Luke existed. Meanwhile, Luke was under a steaming shower while the humidity choked him and made him feel secure.

* * *

It became two months like time was on a rush to somewhere. Calum changed his hairstyle to blond highlights on his bangs. He shaved the sides a little and got a few more tattoos. A guy called him up to see if he was down for a free blowjob. Calum couldn't deny a free offer like that, so he was on his way to receive it. He was stepping out of his house until he was greeted by Luke.

Luke did a double-check to see if he was looking at the same Calum. In retrospect, Calum was doing one as well. "Wow, you look new."

"Yikes," Calum muttered, "I-"

"Please just let me talk first," Luke immediately disrupted Calum's speech. "I want to apologize for what I said. I was an asshole and realized I shouldn't have said those things. I don't know why it took this long, and, and, and..."

"And?" Calum repeated, insisting Luke to finish his sentence.

"I'm just sorry. Sorry, Calum. I'm really sorry," Luke rambled as he fidgeted around.

"Dude, calm down," Calum chuckled, "it's okay. I forgive you."

Remembering he still had a free blowjob session to go to, Calum tried to rush their spontaneous meeting. Hiding within the chambers of Calum's heart, he wanted to talk to Luke and catch up. It was like how you have that one friend that you haven't seen in almost two decades, and you want to update your knowledge on them because you missed their smile, laugh, giggle, hair (unless they are bald), skin, and everything else.

Throwing out the other guy from his mind, he chose Luke instead. "Come in and chat a bit, Lukey."

* * *

Calum and Luke became friends again like the past did nothing to tear them apart. Calum had told Luke all about his sexuality journey, and the blond listened to every detail Calum told him.

"You had a sex with so many people, Cal," Luke peeked at his shoes more than he did at his best friend.

They were walking home together after Luke got off of work. Calum asked what Luke did during their break from each other, but all he really got from the blond was, " _I just waited._ "

The New Zealand male was stumped over what Luke was always implying when he says that line. Was he waiting for him? Was he waiting for his parents? What was he waiting for? Foolishly, he didn't try to figure out the meaning behind Luke's words.

Walking around together seemed so natural and satisfying to Calum, he wanted to keep going until they were exhausted. Then again, Luke was exhausted since he came off of work. Maybe they could go to the park together for a little bit...

* * *

I could take this time to tell you what is going on in Calum's life again, but he was out banging the next person on his big list of people that attract him. Luke being at the very bottom when he should be at the top...

Meanwhile, Luke was stuck at home wondering what Calum was doing at that moment while he waited again. His stomach was so hungry that he lost his appetite. The blond sat quietly to the tone of dreadful silence on the couch. The sunlight that was lingering around his windows got bored and left behind a coat of shadows to accompany his loneliness. Luke couldn't distinguish between the sounds of his stomach rumbling and the refrigerator buzzing.

"Calum didn't come here today," Luke spoke as he laid on the couch in a fetal position. There was a clock ticking as Luke thought as optimistically as possible for the door to ring.

Luke convinced himself that Calum will find him. He knows it in his tapped-up heart that the noir will find him.

Calum slowly forced his cock into a guy's tight hole while a girl from behind him began leaving tracks of kisses down his neck. She whispered lewd things into his ear as his thrusts began speeding up and moans were being compiled in the air. Luke told himself that Calum will come. He will come. He will come. He  _will_ come. He will "I'm gonna cu-"

Luke liked the crickets outside creating a melody for him to fall asleep to. There were tear trails drying on the side of his head again. Luke didn't even notice he was crying. How embarrassing, he thought. Words rang in his head, the sentences being processed and reprocessed until it became a subconscious thing to do. The clock that was haunting him with its obnoxious ticking revealed how late it was, so he got up to lock the front door.

Upon approaching the wooden frame, he hesitated to touch the handle. Unfamiliar voices began mumbling contradicting words in his head, and he killed it all by deciding to return lying down on the couch. He considered himself pathetic for a few seconds before his eyelids closed to the sincere music playing outside by nature.

The New Zealand male laid next to two strangers as he was recovering from the earlier activity. Calum grabbed the blankets and pulled them away from him. Gently placing the fabric back on the man and woman, he saw the reflection of his nude body on the mirror that was on the side of the bed. His head softly shook in disappointment at his flaccid cock and bare skin before finding his clothes to go home.

* * *

Calum walked through Luke's door and found the blond peacefully sleeping on the couch. He was exhausted and ashamed, but he was mainly ashamed. Calmly striding over to Luke, he carried the Aussie to move him further into the couch to make room for himself. The New Zealand male laid on his side and gazed adoringly at the pleasant face in front of him.

Syncing his breathing with other male, Calum slid one of his legs between Luke's and placed his arm upon Luke's waist. Pressing his forehead against Luke's, he found the peace that erased the impurities he felt within himself.

"Holy fuck, Calum!" Luke shouted, scaring and forcing Calum out of the couch.

"Jesus, Luke," Calum rubbed his eyes as he tried to adjust to the situation, "You could have given me more time to sleep, y'know?"

Luke quickly looked at the clock, "It's already noon!"

Calum eyes opened, hearing reality coming through his thick skull. "Whoops."

The blond rushed up and dashed to kitchen. Calum shrugged and followed for hope that he was going to get something to eat. Instead of seeing Luke preparing to fry some eggs or making some pancakes, he found the blond puking over the sink.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, there!" Calum shouted, quickly making his way towards his best friend.

"Fuc-" Luke threw up a little more as Calum rubbed his back and washed away the disgusting substance down the drain.

Once Luke emptied out the feeling to vomit, he sat down at the kitchen table with Calum's assistance. Every after the storm, Luke managed to force out a vigorous rumble from his stomach.

"Hungry, huh?" Calum smirked, preparing eggs from Luke's fridge, "So am I."

"Shut up," Luke laughed playfully as he eyed Calum's movements with adoration.

* * *

Like the updates on apps and curving a test for a class, things will change. Whether it be the way someone talks, or the way they act, or the food they want to eat; things will change.

One afternoon Calum was carelessly neglecting his surroundings, and he didn't notice that Luke had walked in. What was he doing that costed him a lot of respect to be taken away? He was reading Luke's diary on Luke's bed while blankly staring at the ceiling floor from time to time.

He barely got to the pages that had Calum's name written in pretty, cursive letters. Intense footsteps was approaching Calum as he began reading how Luke was waiting for him before heading off into winter break back in high school.

"What the fuck, Calum! You can't be in my business like that without my permission!" Luke angrily raised his voice, taking the book forcefully out of Calum's clutch.

The Australian threw the book on the ground and breathed a little harder like he was trying to blow up a balloon. Calum tried to explain himself, but he was silenced by a loud sobbing coming from Luke. "Lu-"

"Shut up!" Luke laughed awfully at something, which disturbed Calum extremely. "You must have read almost everything by now."

The New Zealander had to watch as Luke started becoming vulnerable. Luke walked away while removing the tears from his face. "Wait!"

Not stopping, Luke escaped through the door with Calum chasing him. Catching up to Luke was no problem since Luke wasn't a fast walker. However, he was too stubborn to try to talk about why he was sensitive about Calum knowing the hardships he faced.

It came back to Calum again; the generic alignment of the streetlamps that showed the path they were walking. The trees rustling to the air as cars drove over the speed limit. Calum's eyes were set on Luke's back, wondering what could the blond be possibly thinking of in his head. Stretching out his hand, just a little bit more, he could have touched the other male. But he didn't...

He was too ashamed of himself and angry that he let himself be careless for a mere moment.

"Is this really how you want to fucking handle your problems?" Calum utterly stated as he kept up to Luke's pace. "I know I did something uncool, but you need to confront your shit!"

"Okay then!" Luke halted and shouted. "How far did you get?"

Calum told how much he had read Luke's diary and fiddled with his hands. Luke sighed and walked back to the apartment, knowing Calum would be right behind him. It was strangely comforting for Luke to have himself being chased.

Upon entering through the door, Luke clutched his chest and felt regret coming down into his stomach acids. Calum locked the door and a new silence came between them. The New Zealand was ready to speak again, but his head was turned to the side by the force of someone's hand.

Before Calum had a chance to speak out on the pain that was surging on the side of his face, Luke inflicted another slap to his face. Easily angered by Luke's uncalled actions, Calum growled and rushed towards Luke. The two of them fell and Calum pinned down Luke's arms to the floor. "Hit me, go ahead, Cal. Be like _my_  parents, so I can  _hate_  you properly," Luke turned his cheek, waiting for the strike to come.

After reading most of Luke's diary, Calum started to take in Luke's memories as his own. He didn't see Luke Hemmings as  _Luke Hemmings_. He saw someone that went through an extreme amount of hardships and still was able to call themselves okay. Calum pitied Luke for awhile, tightening his grip on Luke's arms.

"I c-can't do it," Calum murmured, releasing his hold on Luke and standing up. "I can't fucking do that to you, Luke!"

"And why not, Hood?" Luke laughed while trying to get himself on his feet. "You're afraid to hurt me? Real fucking funny!"

"You-, I just-, there was-," Calum's jagged breathing and frustration mixed in his voice, "you can't just slap me like that! I deserved it, but was it really necessary?"

Luke became silent as if he was caught on his actions. His eyes avoided the glare coming from Calum like he was being interrogated by a detective. Inside of Luke's head, he was beginning to daydream something pleasant to circumvent the reality that was bestowed upon him. When Calum started to talk again, Luke transformed Calum's scolding into dreamy and charming sentences like;

_You did good, Luke._

_You're awesome, Luke._

_No one can be mean to you, Luke!_

Anything to make Calum's statements not reach his heart.

However, Luke did not expect Calum to burst out of the room without even closing the door. The air plowing through the atmosphere inside the apartment was new, chilling, and silent. It didn't come in with a whistle or pushed the papers off his coffee table. It didn't cause him to tense up and freeze. The air opened something in his heart and his eyes were bawling without his permission.

Luke smiled, tears swam down his cheeks, eye bags swollen, and his chest ached like someone used a power drill to create a hole through his heart.

* * *

With Calum's heart turning into a storm, Luke's heart was finally sinking in its own whirlpool. A world they created together became torn apart, and Luke took all the blame on himself. Even Calum blamed Luke for instigating the whole situation.

Everything was against Luke again. Luke was alone on matters again. Back to no one helping Luke. There was no one eating at the kitchen table or watching TV. Not a single person was laughing on his couch. He didn't even make tea for himself or for anyone. There wasn't a hand to strike him or cruel words to cripple his will. It's just Luke. Luke was back on the floor waiting for something to change in his fate.

There was a sudden movement in his brain that told him to rampage, and he did rampage like a madman. He ran into the kitchen and took everything out of the kitchen cabinets. Plates, cups, bowls, and his kettle were free-falling like snow and fell to the tile floor. Things that were made of fragile material were shattered and scattered all around him. His tears danced in midair before collapsing to the floor.

He felt stupid and abused again, but the bruises were nowhere on his body to be found. The droplets coming from his from eyes left behind a trail of regret and despair as he went to find his journal. He did it as fast as his long legs could go. If the journal was what started Luke's unhappiness, then it would become his last regret in the world. Once grabbing his old diary, he began to search for a pen to begin the change that he was desperately waiting for.

He wrote in his neatest handwriting so Calum could read it, where the end of the letters of each word all connected with each other:  _For Calum Hood, the one person that gave me as much happiness as they given me despair..._

Continuing the words on the paper, Luke's rage and misery was finally going to be released. He was going to finally fix himself and free himself of all the pain that was bullying his emotions.

* * *

I haven't interrupted anything in a while, but how about now? You'll probably hate me, but I'll be fine. I will formally apologize for this story right now. I know I made it dragged out, but I wanted to make the characters have background. As much as I am sorry as Calum is here, I cannot tell you how glad I am you got this far. You made it. Went through hell and back on this experimental writing piece that I call a story. Congrats! This will be the last time I bother you as your reward! Please do continue on with whatever is left of this tragic story.

Meanwhile at Luke's apartment, a new silence so strong that it would make anyone go insane upon entering the living room. Things were not picked up from Luke's fit in those past weeks, and the coffee table was flipped over like the tests Luke finished in high school. The tall male wasn't in the living room nor the kitchen. However, his journal was placed neatly upon the kitchen table surface where the window allowed light to shine on the left seat closest to the window. The broken pieces of plates decorated his floor while the utensils were running away from each other.

The ceiling fan was heavier than usual while a desk chair was stationary on the ground to the left of it. Luke's phone was vibrating while it rested on the bed. It moved then stopped. It moved then stopped. It moved. It stopped. Until it stopped moving completely. On the lit screen, it had four missed calls from Calum and fourteen texts from other people. Luke Hemmings was in the room, but _Luke Hemmings_  wasn't in the room. He stopped listening to all the calls and texts long ago.

Luke Hemmings finally stopped feeling the pain that was embedded inside of his soul. He waged something that would put his restlessness to peace and go back to being dormant. He found the solution to his problem, but he created a lot more new ones for everyone once they know what he did. The memories that haunted Luke was finally under the bed while he floated around the world. The inverse relationship between Calum and Luke was set to slowly destroy the spinner. No more pain for Luke, but it was coming to Calum soon.

A fog crept into their neighborhood and locked the town into melancholy. The red string of fate that tied Calum to Luke was finally cut. Thus, the New Zealand was destined to experience the misery that Luke went through and many more.

Blinding the vision of people walking around, the fog created silhouettes of people as they felt a new chill in the air.  _Someone_  was at the swings, flying back and forth on the seats, smiling like the world stopped bullying him into oblivion. He was waiting for his beloved to find him...

* * *

The birds didn't sing when Calum woke up. The window was heavily moist from the fog that lingered. Bushes were freshly cut, the lawns have been watered, and there was still something heavy in the air suffocating Calum. The weeks that Calum wasted on mediocre sex, destructive alcohol, and other memories began to merge together until it became something his head couldn't fit inside and had to let out through his eyes.

Three fucking weeks Calum used to try to forget Luke Hemmings, but his heart couldn't do it. He was engraved inside of Calum like the tattoos on his arms. With contriteness, he got dressed and immediately began grabbing the copy of Luke's house key.

"Luke?" Calum spoke through the door when he arrived at the Aussie's apartment, slightly grasping the doorknob with the key injected inside of its lock. It allowed Calum to pass, but he was taken aback by the mere mess that roamed around the room.

The TV had a hole at the bottom right of its screen, and the couch was torn up with knives planted around the top area where your head would lay back on. It was hectic and insane to think that Luke was capable of creating such a mess. Calum strode over to the kitchen with his heart running faster than it ever had before. The New Zealand male was immediately disappointed to find no one in the kitchen and to see another disarray. "Luke!" Calum shouted as worry and remorse took over his heart.

His stomach ate itself alive while his shoulders became high and heavy. He found the journal that started the predicament between him and Luke on the kitchen table. Retrieving the booklet as swift as possible, he opened the book to see anything out of ordinary. There was no way a journal placed nicely on the clean table surface was not a big enough clue itself.

He read words hastily to find something, anything really, to explain what happened. Calum read past the last time he saw the gut-eating words on those stupid ruled-paper.

In a minute, he found what he needed to see. It was one page with the words written in Luke's elegant handwriting...

_For Calum Hood, the one person that gave me as much happiness as they given me despair,_

He turned the page and read more of what the journal had in store for him.

_You didn't come back after we fought. You left me to deal with the voices in my head._

_They're_   _so loud, Calum. So fucking loud. I need you to be here to make them go away, Calum. Please... Please come back._

The life was being sucked away from Calum's eyes as he continued on. Maybe a little of his sanity was disappearing as well.

_I decided to go out today and get fresh air. Everyone likes that, right?_

_I'll be recording myself for you, Calum. I'll give you a present like no one has ever gave you before._

Calum flipped through pages after pages to find out what Luke was doing the past weeks until he was done to the last three pages of the journal. His heart diminished and became debris, for he could not handle the pain that was striking his chest like there was a nail placed in the middle of his rib cage and someone was hammering it down into him.

The first page of the last three told him that Luke Hemmnings loves him; the words stood so high and aimed precisely a spear into the hole that was expanding in his chest. His eye, however, refused to cry.

As his eyes skimmed down the lines, one particular line told him to check the bedroom if he hasn't done so already. A fear entered inside of his blood streams, and he could feel his skin getting goosebumps as the air became disturbingly freezing to him.

He cautiously pushed the bedroom door that was left ajar, and Calum's eyes wanted to burn everything and turn the world into ash. A rage and despair overwhelmed him as he saw Luke Hemmings in the room. He saw the ceiling fan bearing the weight of a dead body on its neck with the rope tied well around it. Calum's eyes flushed out all the emotions through forms of liquid droplets. "No," Calum crept closer to Luke's body, dropping the journal to the floor that Luke couldn't touch.

He knelt down and crawled until his head was leveled with Luke's ankles. The new silence engulfed Calum and no noise was loud enough to stop the deafening sound that resonated among the room. "No! No! No! No! Fuck no! Shit! Fuck!" Calum cursed loudly before shouting his pain, "Luke, no! Oh God, please don't."

His hands held onto Luke's ankles and embraced the tall hanging male. His tears soaked Luke's socks and parts of Luke's pants. Calum shook his head as he held onto Luke's body for dear life. "No, Luke. Please, no. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Please don't do this, Luke."

Through the misty vision, he saw something on the bed. It seemed to be Luke's cellphone. He shut his eyes and kept his vice grip of Luke's legs, rubbing his cheeks against Luke's pants because everything was hurting and became stronger every second he stayed in the room

He sniffled and shook vigorously as his scared hands lingered on Luke's feet before leaving it. He picked up the device and shoved it into his pocket while also wiping his moist face with his left arm. Then, he picked up the journal and threw it gently at the bed and walked to the kitchen.

Coming back with a knife, he stood on the desk chair and struggled to reach the line that connected Luke to the fan.

* * *

Luke was placed on the couch after being cut down. Calum hugged the lifeless body, for it was the last one Calum was going to give. He caught Luke's scent and prayed to the God he was losing faith in. He prayed that Luke would find his way home for him. Badly wanting to kiss the dead lips, Calum restrained himself from doing so and called up the police.

After talking to them about the incident, Calum left the apartment and rushed down out of the area. The mist clouded his way, but the pavements that his foot was stepping over was clear. He opened the journal and read the last two pages.

_I know you'll come back for me, Calum. I just know it. You'll see me in a way you never wanted to see, but I'll be gone at that point to even feel regret. I already have the rope and I'm done recording my last gift to you. I hope you enjoy it, and I love you, Calum Hood. I'll just wait for you somewhere in this world to find me. I'm sorry it had to come to this. I'm stupid, really pathetic, but I don't know what else there is for me when you're not around. I've became dependent on your presence, and you hurt me on numerous occasions. Thanks for being there..._

_I'll just wait..._

_Luke H._

Calum's weeping heart became flooded again in despair. Eyes unbelievably swollen and rose pink. He opened the cellphone and selected the first video that was set for him.

The video starts playing; Calum ceased walking. Luke was holding the camera to his face as he continued to walk through the woods of somewhere. "I wished you were here to see this," Luke's haunting voice spoke to Calum.

The rest of the video consisted of Luke first putting down the camera and running around the trees that were in view. He even did a little bit of the game hide-and-seek.

The next video was Luke walking to the park, then it was just nothing but Luke swinging on the same swing-set that Calum and the dead blond went on. Luke's laughter made Calum's obliterated feelings weep again.

The third video was too nostalgic for Calum, for it was the bench. It was the same fucking bench Luke waited for Calum throughout high school. It was apparent that the bench received a new coloring to change its original bland one, but it was still the same bench to the noir. The tree was as towering as ever with the leaves in a lively green. Luke sat down and directed the camera upwards where the sunlight came through the gaps of the patches of leaves and branches. Luke's arm came into view while his hand was reaching to touch the heavenly light. A soft sob came shortly afterwards before Luke spoke, "I'll just wait for you, Calum."

Torturing his being, Calum finally finished all the videos where he stood. His cheek grew so cold that it became numb to physical touch. Calum shoved the phone and his hands into his pockets and traveled to somewhere that would bring up too many memories.

The New Zealand male arrived at the park; no one appearing in sight as the fog past through. Calum's face was filled of dry and wet tears, but he needed to find something to calm him down. He sat on the seat he usually chose and turned his head to the empty seat next to him. Luke's seat...

He began rocking back and forth, waiting for nothing to come. Luke's voice, Luke's memories, Luke's videos, Luke, Luke, Luke... He was stuck inside of Calum's head as he couldn't make the rush of the wind erase them in its flow. And the most infamous line that was used by the beautiful, awkward, strange, abused, lovable, blond-haired male was a song that played in his heart and mind. "I'll just wait."

Aside from Calum's vision, the seat next to him began to move slowly but not noticeably...

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, that's that. Do as you please, I got hw to do and other bull fucking shit c: I'm a little stressed, but I'll try to complete my other stories on here when I got the time.


End file.
